An impressive win for the boys in green at the final Varsity of the season
One of the highly anticipated games of the season kicked off tonight at Sandy Park. The recently promoted side of Nottingham facing our boys in green- Exeter University. Despite a bitter bite in the weather, it did not stop the mighty boys from winning on home turf.
The game started with the eager Nottingham side driving it down the wing, however an overthrown pass led the Exeter boys to heave a sigh of relief. However, Nottingham had the scrum on the ’22, only 2 minutes into the game. Exeter managed to turn it over, and Josh Barton cleared it down the pitch. With one penalty after the next, it was the visitors who had the advantage and made ground with the ball. With an early substitution for one of Exeter’s most impressive players this season- Ross Vintcent, the boys knew what they had to do. And rewarded they were, and with Josh Barton’s pressure the ball was in Exeter’s hands and it was hooker Oli Burrows who put the first points on the board for the boys in green.
The pressure became too much for the Nottingham side, as straight after the restart, a knock on was made, and it was a scrum to Exeter on the halfway line. After a halt in pace, Exeter soon reclaimed the ball and it was Ben Hammersley’s boot that kicked the ball out, setting the boys up in a perfect position for the next set of play.
Nottingham continued with their streak of errors, as their fly-half tried to kick the ball down the field, before the mighty Will de Boehmler intercepted and ran it down the pitch right under the glorious post. And with Josh Barton adding the two important extras, the score stood at 12-0 in only the first 18 minutes of the game. Back to the restart and the magic just kept coming through for Exeter, and with an intercepted pass from Oli Burrows and a quick offload it was Arthur Thomas who drove from the halfway line, giving Exeter those 5 golden points. However, Nottingham soon retaliated with a maul try from James Cherry. After an unfortunate penalty conceded by Exeter, the Nottingham side had possession and after a couple of consistent phases, they were rewarded with another try from the respective James Cherry. The strong voices of support in the crowd drove the boys to secure the bonus point and maintain their lead, and with a strong Exeter pack dominating the scrum, centre Archie Hill broke from the line and with a pass to Benjy Joseland on the wing, the boys in green secured yet another try, securing the all important bonus point.
HALF TIME SCORE 22-10
The second half was bound to be a push from both sides, eager to put points on the BUCS Super Rugby League Table. The Visitors came bounding onto the field with more grit and determination behind them, although a repeat error of a knock on from Nottingham on their 22m line, led to a strong scrum from Exeter. After a penalty was conceded from the visitors in the scrum, Josh Barton successfully kicked for goal in order, to extend the score gap. A fierce Nottingham side quickly retaliated, and some quick interplay led them to a try down the left wing scored by Connor Moyse. With a successful conversion, the score gap closed to 25-17, a tight score that the boys knew they had to extend. And that they did, after a penalty advantage to the boys in green, the strong maul drove over the line from 10m out, with Lucas Dorrell touching it down.
With the score stood at 30-17 and with thirteen minutes left on the clock, the Exeter side still had a lot of fight and determination left in them. Exeter had the possession and after a set of consistent phases, and a pass from Chris Freeman, it was Josh Barton who broke from the line, with a dummy and placed the ball over the shining line. Barton converted his own impressive try and those added seven points took the score to 37-17 and with 6 minutes left on the clock Exeter were well and truly in the lead. In their own ’22, the opposition persisted with their attacking play, but strong defence from the home side kept the Nottingham side behind the line. However, a penalty conceded by Exeter enabled the Nottingham side to score one more try, before the whistle was blown leading the full time score to be 37-24
A brilliant display of Rugby that was shown at Sandy Park today, with the mighty Exeter side dominating both the attack and defence. With 5 points secured, the Exeter 1s will be looking ahead to the next few tough fixtures on the horizon.